Mass Attendance

Class 1B, Miss Enna's class, had this week's highest mass attendance. They took advantage of this sunny day to take a quick outdoor break and help Fr. Manning cut off the plastic cover to the church fountain, but not until they drew pictures and autographed the plastic tarp!

Many grades had excellent Mass attendance last weekend. Our Eight graders attend their Confirmation preparation program and Mass faithfully. Class 4A has won the Holy Cross in their classroom for a record six consecutive weeks (and their Italian Ice lunch dessert)! Congratulations 4A on consistent, excellent attendance at Mass.

Congratulations to our Eight Graders for their excellent mass attendance last weekend. Last weekend, even above most, we needed to be nourished by the Eucharist and consoled by Jesus' presence in our hearts.

Reminder: The 8 AM Sunday mass has been cancelled in order to give us time to clear the parking lot and walkways if possible. If the storm is still in full force, more adjustments to the schedule may be necessary. Check blog tomorrow AM.

At this writing early Saturday morning, the wind conditions and continuing snowfall are making it nearly impossible to foresee when travel will again be safe and when we are able to provide safe parking and clear pathways to the church.

Presuming our ability to clear the lot and walks will eventually succeed, but wishing to get time for us to do so safely, we have cancelled the Saturday 5 PM mass and the Sunday 8 AM mass.

We will assess the storm's impact later this afternoon or tonight and make decisions about the remainder of Sunday's masses when we can project whether travel is feasible and parking and church walkways are clear.

As you know, Bishop O'Connell has dispensed us from the obligation to attend mass this weekend due to the storm.

Let us be thankful for warmth and shelter and pray for the storm's impact to spare human life.

Fr Manning

PS Please help spread the word on social media regarding the changes to our mass schedule.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete our online questionnaire. 109 respondents took the suvey; the results are reported as percentages of that number. There was consensus to keep the Christmas "midnight" mass at 11 PM, and no desire for a New Year's Eve midnight mass. Of the small minority of respondents who have utilized our mass sitters for their children during the 10:30 AM mass...100% rated their experience as favorable!

The spiritual benefits of mass attendance and worthy reception of the Holy Eucharists are inestimable. Though the fruits of the mass are freely given gifts from God, it takes our effort to attend mass and receive them. While our children are learning the mass and under the guidance of our spiritual formation, it seems prudent to encourage this attendance in many different ways.

The Holy Cross School class with the highest mass attendance this coming weekend will host the Holy Cross Award in their classroom, but also be given a guided tour of the construction site. The church is beginning to really take shape and can be readily without the need to interpret construction drawings. What a fun and hands on way to teach about worship, liturgical symbolism and community.

Last weekend our confirmandi gathered after mass to hear an inspiring talk by Detective Steven McDonald of the NYC Police Department on the nature of forgiveness. In July, 1986, Detective McDonald was shot three times and nearly killed. His injuries left him quadriplegic, but he still travels widely to give motivational talks to young people.

Our eight graders had terrific mass attendance at the 5 PM mass. Congratulations to Mrs. Tomaino's class for the best school-wide mass attendance. They only narrowly missed being the first class of the year with 100% attendance.

Congratulations to 1B, Miss Enna, 8B, Mrs. Tomaino on the best mass attendance for this past weekend. Thank you to their parents for ensuring that our students are able to express their faith by worshipping with us on Sunday, a great blessing but also an important responsibility.

Just a reminder to school parents that our morning masses are streamed live on webcam. The school will notify the parents in each class when their child is scheduled to attend mass and we invite you to tune in to pray along, but also listen to the homily which might serve as a topic of conversation later in the day.